IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v187y2024ics0301421524000375.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does digital government transformation drive regional green innovation? Evidence from cities in China

Author

Listed:
  • Yang, Xiaoran
  • Ran, Rong
  • Chen, Yejing
  • Zhang, Jie

Abstract

With the escalating environmental challenges, regional green innovation, as the key to achieving the goal of environmental sustainability, has evolved into a focal point of societal apprehension. The external environment of regional green innovation has changed amid the digital government transformation (DGT). However, there hasn't been much discussion of how DGT affects regional green innovation. Therefore, to explore the impact of DGT on regional green innovation and its specific mechanism, we use the China Mobile Online Service Platform (MOSP) adoption as a quasi-natural experiment, based on panel data on 288 cities in China from 2006 to 2020, and apply a time-varying difference-in-differences model. Our study finds that DGT affects regional green innovation in a positive way. Green financial development and green-talent gathering mediate the DGT's influence on regional green innovation. The government's policy attention to green development and technology research plays a positive moderating role between DGT and regional green innovation. Our study advances the research on DGT's contribution to environmental sustainability by confirming the positive effects of DGT on regional green innovation.

Suggested Citation

  • Yang, Xiaoran & Ran, Rong & Chen, Yejing & Zhang, Jie, 2024. "Does digital government transformation drive regional green innovation? Evidence from cities in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:187:y:2024:i:c:s0301421524000375
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2024.114017
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421524000375
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2024.114017?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kelejian, Harry H. & Murrell, Peter & Shepotylo, Oleksandr, 2013. "Spatial spillovers in the development of institutions," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 297-315.
    2. Inke Torfs & Ellen Wayenberg & Lieselot Danneels, 2023. "Institutional shifts and punctuated patterns in digital policy," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 40(3), pages 363-388, May.
    3. Du, Gang & Yu, Meng & Sun, Chuanwang & Han, Zhao, 2021. "Green innovation effect of emission trading policy on pilot areas and neighboring areas: An analysis based on the spatial econometric model," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    4. Malin Song & Qianjiao Xie, 2019. "How does green talent influence China’s economic growth?," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 41(7), pages 1119-1134, December.
    5. Monk, Alexander & Perkins, Richard, 2020. "What explains the emergence and diffusion of green bonds?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    6. Liu, Xiping & Zhang, Xiaoling & Sun, Wen, 2022. "Does the agglomeration of urban producer services promote carbon efficiency of manufacturing industry?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    7. Thorsten Beck & Ross Levine & Alexey Levkov, 2010. "Big Bad Banks? The Winners and Losers from Bank Deregulation in the United States," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(5), pages 1637-1667, October.
    8. Nancy Qian, 2008. "Missing Women and the Price of Tea in China: The Effect of Sex-Specific Earnings on Sex Imbalance," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 123(3), pages 1251-1285.
    9. Pan, Xianyou & Shen, Zhiyang & Song, Malin & Shu, Yalin, 2023. "Enhancing green technology innovation through enterprise environmental governance: A life cycle perspective with moderator analysis of dynamic innovation capability," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    10. Ni, Zehua & Yang, Jingyi & Razzaq, Asif, 2022. "How do natural resources, digitalization, and institutional governance contribute to ecological sustainability through load capacity factors in highly resource-consuming economies?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    11. Ufua, Daniel E. & Emielu, Emmanuel T. & Olujobi, Olusola J. & Lakhani, Faraz & Borishade, Taiye T. & Ibidunni, Ayodotun S. & Osabuohien, Evans S., 2021. "Digital transformation: a conceptual framing for attaining Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 9 in Nigeria," Journal of Management & Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 27(5), pages 836-849, September.
    12. Yin, Hua-Tang & Wen, Jun & Chang, Chun-Ping, 2022. "Science-technology intermediary and innovation in China: Evidence from State Administration for Market Regulation, 2000–2019," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    13. Li, Bo & Han, Yukai & Wang, Chensheng & Sun, Wei, 2022. "Did civilized city policy improve energy efficiency of resource-based cities? Prefecture-level evidence from China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    14. Liu, Nan & Teng, Long & Tian, Wenjuan & Li, Ying, 2023. "Does digitalization enhance fossil fuels resources efficiency?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PA).
    15. Yao, Shiyue & Yu, Xueying & Yan, Sen & Wen, Shiyan, 2021. "Heterogeneous emission trading schemes and green innovation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    16. Junxiu Sun & Feng Wang & Haitao Yin & Bing Zhang, 2019. "Money Talks: The Environmental Impact of China's Green Credit Policy," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 38(3), pages 653-680, June.
    17. Cheng, Hua & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad, 2023. "How green finance can bridge the energy poverty gap: Policies to mitigate socioeconomic and environmental consequences," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    18. Conceição Castro & Cristina Lopes, 2022. "Digital Government and Sustainable Development," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 13(2), pages 880-903, June.
    19. Filiou, Despoina & Kesidou, Effie & Wu, Lichao, 2023. "Are smart cities green? The role of environmental and digital policies for Eco-innovation in China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    20. Anders Fredriksson, 2020. "One Stop Shops for Public Services: Evidence from Citizen Service Centers in Brazil," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(4), pages 1133-1165, September.
    21. J. Ramon Gil-Garcia & Sharon S. Dawes & Theresa A. Pardo, 2018. "Digital government and public management research: finding the crossroads," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(5), pages 633-646, May.
    22. Shaojian Chen & Hui Mao & Junqin Sun, 2022. "Low-Carbon City Construction and Corporate Carbon Reduction Performance: Evidence From a Quasi-Natural Experiment in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(1), pages 125-143, September.
    23. Mengfan Zhang & Yuxiang Hong, 2023. "Effects of civilized cities commendation on urban green innovation: evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(35), pages 4060-4077, July.
    24. Patrick G. Scott & Sanjay K. Pandey, 2000. "The influence of red tape on bureaucratic behavior: An experimental simulation," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(4), pages 615-633.
    25. Zhao, Shuliang & Teng, Linjiao & Arkorful, Vincent Ekow & Hu, Hui, 2023. "Impacts of digital government on regional eco-innovation: Moderating role of dual environmental regulations," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    26. Wang, Yi & Chen, Yang & Benitez-Amado, Jose, 2015. "How information technology influences environmental performance: Empirical evidence from China," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 160-170.
    27. Wang, Xincheng & Li, Yuan & Tian, Longwei & Hou, Ye, 2023. "Government digital initiatives and firm digital innovation: Evidence from China," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    28. Lee, Chien-Chiang & He, Zhi-Wen & Xiao, Fu, 2022. "How does information and communication technology affect renewable energy technology innovation? International evidence," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 546-557.
    29. Irfan, Muhammad & Razzaq, Asif & Sharif, Arshian & Yang, Xiaodong, 2022. "Influence mechanism between green finance and green innovation: Exploring regional policy intervention effects in China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    30. Qiu, Feng & Tong, Qingmeng, 2021. "A spatial difference-in-differences approach to evaluate the impact of light rail transit on property values," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    31. Qingguo Meng & Ziteng Fan, 2022. "Punctuations and diversity: exploring dynamics of attention allocation in China’s E-government agenda," Policy Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(3), pages 502-521, May.
    32. Bingqian Zhang & Guochao Peng & Caihua Liu & Zuopeng Justin Zhang & Sajjad M. Jasimuddin, 2022. "Adaptation behaviour in using one-stop smart governance apps: an exploratory study between digital immigrants and digital natives," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 32(4), pages 1971-1991, December.
    33. Xu, Xinkuo & Li, Jingsi, 2023. "Can green bonds reduce the carbon emissions of cities in China?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 226(C).
    34. Karlilar, Selin & Balcilar, Mehmet & Emir, Firat, 2023. "Environmental sustainability in the OECD: The power of digitalization, green innovation, renewable energy and financial development," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(6).
    35. Yang, Lihong & Wang, Shixun, 2022. "Do fintech applications promote regional innovation efficiency? Empirical evidence from China," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    36. Yannick Glemarec & Jose A. Puppim de Oliveira, 2012. "The Role Of The Visible Hand Of Public Institutions In Creating A Sustainable Future," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 32(3), pages 200-214, August.
    37. Patrick Schulte & Heinz Welsch & Sascha Rexhäuser, 2016. "ICT and the Demand for Energy: Evidence from OECD Countries," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 63(1), pages 119-146, January.
    38. Jiang, Junyan & Zhang, Muyang, 2020. "Friends with benefits: Patronage networks and distributive politics in China," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    39. Martins, João & Veiga, Linda Gonçalves, 2022. "Digital government as a business facilitator," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    40. Pan He & Bing Zhang, 2018. "Environmental Tax, Polluting Plants’ Strategies and Effectiveness: Evidence from China," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 37(3), pages 493-520, June.
    41. Khan, Muhammad Zubair & Khan, Zafir Ullah & Hameed, Affan & Zada, Shehnaz Sahib, 2021. "On the upside or flipside: Where is venture capital positioned in the era of digital disruptions?," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    42. Siying Yang & Shunyu Ma & Jingjing Lu, 2022. "Can government venture capital guidance funds promote urban innovation? Evidence from China," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(2), pages 753-770, June.
    43. ElMassah, Suzanna & Mohieldin, Mahmoud, 2020. "Digital transformation and localizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Xu, Jingru & Yang, Baochen & Yuan, Chunlai, 2024. "Enhancing natural resource efficiency through digital government: Evidence from the utilization of energy, water, and land resources," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    2. Jingyi Liang & Cuixia Qiao, 2024. "The Impact of Digital Trade Development on Regional Green Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-28, November.
    3. Qiong Liu & Quan Zuo & Lei Li & Chen Yang & Jianwen Yan & Yuhang Xu, 2024. "Energy-Oriented Modeling of Hot Stamping Production Line: Analysis and Perspectives for Reduction," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-27, November.
    4. Linghu, Jingying & Guo, Chengcheng, 2024. "Digital government: The new player in improving mining companies’ environmental performance?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    5. Ruizhi Liu & Mengwei Hou & Ruifeng Jing & Alexandra Bauer & Mark Wu, 2024. "The Impact of National Big Data Pilot Zones on the Persistence of Green Innovation: A Moderating Perspective Based on Green Finance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-28, November.
    6. Yan Jiang & Lun Yang & Xiaokun Wei & Xiaodong Zhang, 2024. "The Impact of Government Digital Transformation on Land Use Efficiency: Evidence from China," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-26, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Xu, Jingru & Yang, Baochen & Yuan, Chunlai, 2024. "Enhancing natural resource efficiency through digital government: Evidence from the utilization of energy, water, and land resources," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    2. Gan, Tian & Jiang, Yan & Wu, Xi & Zhang, Mingxin, 2024. "Digital government and regional innovation," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 238(C).
    3. Liu, Yin & Alnafrah, Ibrahim & Zhou, Yaying, 2024. "A systemic efficiency measurement of resource management and sustainable practices: A network bias-corrected DEA assessment of OECD countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    4. Zhao, Dengfeng & Lin, Jingting & Bashir, Muhammad Adnan, 2024. "Analyze the effect of energy efficiency, natural resources, and the digital economy on ecological footprint in OCED countries: The mediating role of renewable energy," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    5. Feng, Yanchao & Liu, Gaoxiang & Meng, Xiangxu & Jiang, Kai & Huang, Rongbing & Zhang, Ci & Shi, Jiaxin & Pan, Yuxi, 2024. "How does digital government affect carbon intensity at the global level? New perspective of resource allocation optimization," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    6. Hao, Xiaoli & Miao, Erxiang & Sun, Qingyu & Li, Ke & Wen, Shufang & Xue, Yan, 2024. "The impact of digital government on corporate green innovation: Evidence from China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    7. Gan, Tian & Zhang, Mingxin & Zhang, Zhiqiang, 2023. "The impact of digital government policy on entrepreneurial activity in China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 479-496.
    8. Siying Yang & Fengshuo Liu & Gege Wang & Dawei Feng, 2024. "Intellectual property system and urban green innovation: Evidence from China," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(1), March.
    9. Linghu, Jingying & Guo, Chengcheng, 2024. "Digital government: The new player in improving mining companies’ environmental performance?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    10. Ren, Shenggang & Yang, Xuanyu & Hu, Yucai & Chevallier, Julien, 2022. "Emission trading, induced innovation and firm performance," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    11. Wang, Chenxi & Wang, Deli & Deng, Xincai, 2024. "Role of digital government interfaces in mitigating the resource curse in selected OPEC countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    12. Ding, Guangyuan & Xiong, Yunbiao & Wang, Yashu, 2024. "Moderating effect of digital governance and eco-policy stringency in realizing natural resources-growth nexus: Role of financial development and FDI in G20 countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    13. Da Gao & Chang Liu & Xinyan Wei & Yang Liu, 2023. "Can River Chief System Policy Improve Enterprises’ Energy Efficiency? Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-17, February.
    14. Zhou, Bihua & Huang, Yun & Zhao, Yihang, 2024. "Research on the incentive effect of the policy combination of carbon-reduction pilot cities," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 456-475.
    15. Xu, Chang & Jin, Long, 2024. "Effects of government digitalization on firm investment efficiency: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 819-834.
    16. Bo Li & Jing Liu & Qian Liu & Muhammad Mohiuddin, 2022. "The Effects of Broadband Infrastructure on Carbon Emission Efficiency of Resource-Based Cities in China: A Quasi-Natural Experiment from the “Broadband China” Pilot Policy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-27, May.
    17. Tian, Jinfang & Sun, Siyang & Cao, Wei & Bu, Di & Xue, Rui, 2024. "Make every dollar count: The impact of green credit regulation on corporate green investment efficiency," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    18. Guan, Weili & Li, Yuming & Liu, Jun & Ullah, Sana & Metawa, Noura, 2024. "How does digital government affect natural resource sustainability? A global perspective," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    19. Xingneng Xia & Xuezhao Chen & Qinqin Chen, 2024. "Evaluating the Impact of Low-Carbon Urban Policy on Corporate Green Innovation—Evidence from China’s National Low-Carbon City Strategy Program," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-26, May.
    20. Weilong Wang & Jianlong Wang & Haitao Wu, 2024. "Assessing the potential of energy transition policy in driving renewable energy technology innovation: evidence from new energy demonstration city pilots in China," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 57(5), pages 1-37, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:187:y:2024:i:c:s0301421524000375. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.